Chickpea patties

Food triggers memories and this dish stirs up memories for me about lazy summers in Trivandrum reading (and re- reading) Pride and Prejudice. My parents had banned Mills and Boons books (similar to the Harlequin romances) but Jane Austen was permitted  - It was after all good literature. So my sister and I read and re read Pride and Prejudice every summer when we were teenagers. We were beside ourselves when Doordarshan, the lone television channel those days made a Hindi TV series - Trishna based on P &P. We waited every Saturday afternoon to watch Mr. Darcy and relive the book yet again.
Knowing my obsession with Pride and Prejudice, I received as a joke in one of birthdays past a book called "Mr. Darcy takes a wife'.  I will spare  you a review of the sequel and just say this. I exchanged it for a really wonderful little cookbook; the Ethnic Vegetarian by Angela Shelf Medearis. 
I have veganized this recipe for Chickpea patties from this book with inspiration from the Carefree Curry burgers @ the ppk

2 cups cooked chickpeas
1/2  c leftover cold rice ( i used some leftover pilaf)
1/4 of a red onion
1/4 c cilantro
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp garam masala
2 tsps grated ginger
1 tbsp corn starch
salt to taste
Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking tray with aluminum foil and lightly spray with cooking oil.
Pulse all the ingredients  in the bowl of a food processor until the mixture starts to come together. Dump into a large mixing bowl; the mixture should hold together. Form patties and arrange them on the baking tray ( I used a lightly oiled 1/2 cup measure to do this). Chill in the fridge for 1/2 an hour.

Bake for 5 to 7 minutes and then flip the patties and bake for a few more minutes until both sides are browned.
We ate them in a sandwich dressed with tomatoes, cukes, avocados and green tomato and ginger relish.

Chickpea Dip

Please check out the Holy Cow blog at http://www.holycowvegan.net/. In addition to the amazing vegan recipes, I admire this space for its warmth, wit and honesty.
Vaishali of Holy Cow has this great knack for combining flavors and spices. My first reaction used to be really and this will work? But after trying this recipe and this I was convinced.

Thank you Holy Cow.

Taking a leaf from Holy Cow, I created this week's hummus with Mexican flavors. The result was a very fresh tasting bean dip.

11/2 cup cooked Garbanzo beans
1 large Poblano(also called Pasilla) pepper
1 tsp Cumin
1 clove garlic
Juice from 1 large lime
1/4 c Pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds).
3 tbsps of olive oil
1 -2 tbsps water as required.
salt to taste.

Roast the Poblano pepper. Place it directly over the gas flame and roast on all sides until the skin blackens. (You can also do this by broiling it in a toaster oven, turning  the pepper often ). Put the pepper in a bowl, cover with a lid and allow to steam for 10 minutes. Peel the blackened skin off the pepper and de seed.

Toast the Pepitas in a (dry)skillet. Toast till the Pepitas start to pop. Remove the Pepitas from the skillet to stop further cooking.

Add the Pepitas and the garlic to the food processor. Pulse to a fine powder. Add the chickpeas, cumin, lime juice and Poblanos to the bowl and process, scraping down the sides a couple of times. Add a little water if the mix is too thick. Taste and add salt as required.

Move the dip to a serving bowl and swirl in the olive oil.  Dip in and enjoy.

* This keeps in the fridge in a tightly covered container for about a week.

Chickpea soup

I have a confession to make - social media overwhelms me. May be it is because I am old (fashioned). I still think the primary purpose of my (smart) phone is to make phone calls, email is an efficient way to communicate and thank you letters should be written by hand.
But to my surprise when my media savvy friend introduced me to Twitter, I was hooked. So much information is such perfect titbits... this was a revelation and people tweeted recipes.
This was one keeper that I discovered via Mark Bitman's twitter feed. I adapted the recipe to ingredients I had in my pantry. You can find the original recipe  here. 

-1 cup dry chick peas soaked overnight and cooked until tender
  or 2 cups canned.
-2 jars of roasted red bell peppers (drained)
-1 medium white onion sliced thin
-2 tsps Olive Oil
-4 cloves garlic
-4 to 6 cups water or vegetable stock
-2 tsp cumin
-1/2 tsp paprika
-2 tsp basil pesto(made without any cheese) (optional)

Add the olive oil to a large stockpot on medium heat and sweat the onions. When the onions start to turn brown add the garlic and saute for a minute or two. Add the cumin, paprika. Add the chickpeas, red bell pepper and the 4 cups of stock (or  water0. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.  Puree the soup roughly in a blender in batches or use an immersion blender. Add more stock or water and bring to a boil again if you want a thinner soup.
Serve hot with a drizzle of pesto.
* I usually add a bay leaf a few cloves of garlic to the pot when cooking the chick peas.